Verizon Communications Inc. said it signed a broad programming deal with The Walt Disney Co. that will allow the telco to carry several Disney-owned cable channels and broadcast signals from ABC owned-and-operated stations for its FiOS TV rollout.
Disney will also supply Verizon with video-on-demand content from ABC Family, ABC News Now, Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, Radio Disney TV, SOAPnet and Toon Disney.
Verizon -- which hopes to commercially deploy FiOS TV later this month in Keller, Texas -- still hasn’t reached carriage deals with several major programming companies, including MTV Networks and Fox Networks Group.
As part of the Disney deal, Verizon said it will offer subscribers broadband Internet content from ABC News Now, Disney Connection, ESPN360, Movies.com and a new broadband soap-opera product. Content from Buena Vista Pay Television and ESPN Pay-Per-View is also included in the agreement.
Disney said Verizon will also help the media giant to crack down on Internet piracy of its programming, as the telco agreed to forward and track notices to its subscribers who allegedly steal its copyrighted content, without providing their actual names.
And Verizon agreed to provide names of alleged programming pirates if it is subpoenaed, along with terminating Internet service of customers who rip off Disney multiple times.
